International Trio of Mars Orbiters Shows Small Dust Storms Help Dry Out the Red Planet
By combining observations from three international spacecraft at Mars, scientists were able to show that regional dust storms play a huge role in drying out…
MAVEN
Could the Surface of the Martian Moon Phobos Reveal Secrets of Mars’ Past?
The Martian moon Phobos orbits through a stream of charged atoms and molecules that flow off the Red Planet’s atmosphere, new research shows. Many of…
Heat and Dust Help Launch Martian Water High Into the Atmosphere Where It’s Lost to Space
Scientists using an instrument aboard NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, spacecraft have discovered that water vapor near the surface of the Red…
Escape From Mars: Surprising Discovery in the Red Planet’s Atmosphere Helps Explain Martian Mystery
New University of Arizona-led research updates our understanding of how water escapes Mars — not like a leaky faucet but with a sudden splash. Mars…
Astronomers Mystified by Eerie Phenomenon on Mars: Ultraviolet “Nightglow” Spreads Across the Planet’s Sky Every Night
Every night on Mars, when the sun sets and temperatures fall to minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit and below, an eerie phenomenon spreads across much of…
NASA’s MAVEN Spacecraft Observes Weird Glowing and Pulsing in Mars’ Night Sky
Vast areas of the Martian night sky pulse in ultraviolet light, according to images from NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft. The results are being used to illuminate…
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Teams Up With Observatories Around Solar System
At the heart of understanding our space environment is the knowledge that conditions throughout space — from the Sun to the atmospheres of planets to…
NASA’s Mars Orbiter Maps Electric Currents Around the Red Planet – Fundamental to Atmospheric Loss
Five years after NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft entered into orbit around Mars, data from the mission has led to the creation of a map of electric…
Scientists Were Way Off on the Martian Dynamo – “Very Different From What We Thought”
Mars had a global magnetic field much earlier—and much later—in the planet’s history than scientists have previously known. A planet’s global magnetic field arises from…
Unexpected Discovery by NASA’s MAVEN on Mars Helps Explain Disruptive Phenomenon on Earth
NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft has discovered “layers” and “rifts” in the electrically charged part of the upper atmosphere (the ionosphere) of…
Surprising Clues to Martian Climate Uncovered As NASA’s MAVEN Maps Winds in Mars’ Upper Atmosphere [Video]
Researchers have created the first map of wind circulation in the upper atmosphere of a planet besides Earth, using data from NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft that…
NASA’s MAVEN Spacecraft Just Found a New Type of Martian Aurora
Auroras appear on Earth as ghostly displays of colorful light in the night sky, usually near the poles. Our rocky neighbor Mars has auroras too,…
MAVEN Mission Sheds Light on Habitability of Distant Planets
How long might a rocky, Mars-like planet be habitable if it were orbiting a red dwarf star? It’s a complex question but one that NASA’s…
MAVEN Spacecraft Reveals That Mars Has a Unique Magnetic “Tail”
NASA’s MAVEN Spacecraft reveals that Mars has an invisible magnetic “tail” that is twisted by interaction with the solar wind. NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile…
Large Solar Storm Sparks Global Aurora on the Martian Surface
An unexpectedly strong blast from the Sun hit Mars last month, sparking a global aurora more than 25 times brighter than any previously seen by…
MAVEN Reveals How Mars Lost Its Atmosphere
New results from NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft reveal that solar wind and radiation are responsible for stripping the Martian atmosphere, transforming Mars from a planet that…
MAVEN Mission Provides Unprecedented Ultraviolet View of Mars
New images from the MAVEN mission show the ultraviolet glow from the Martian atmosphere in unprecedented detail, revealing dynamic, previously invisible behavior. They include the…
NASA’s MAVEN Spacecraft Observes Mars Moon Phobos
New observations from NASA’s MAVEN Mission has scientists closer to solving the mystery of how Mars’ moon Phobos formed. In late November and early December…